To conduct a series of studies testing a model of dream function i.e. that dreaming serves to process affective self-relevant information so as to assimilate it to previously effective organizing structures or to accomodate the structures in order that a steady sense of self can be maintained. This will be tested first by making predictions about the amount and kind of dreaming experienced by persons all known to have suffered the loss of an important role (wife) but who differ in their waking ability to cope with this change in self definition. It is predicted that dreaming will increase in those suffering a recent loss but that judges will be able to correctly distinguish the dreams of three groups: 1) Those not able to cope (hospitalized reactive depressives), 2) Those moderately depressed but able to function, 3) Those previously depressed following a loss a year prior but now recovered. The second study will make predictions about the nature of the waking emotional difficulty that has brought a group of persons to seek psychotherapy from an analysis of the role-patterns and self characterizations of their pre-therapy dreams. The last study will test the possibility of an effective direct manipulation of the dream content to aid the accommodation of the self to changed life circumstances. This will be tested by the ability of judges to select the post-manipulation dreams from the pre-manipulation dreams as those showing more self-acceptance. The first two studies will be used to develop the variables associated with dream accommodation and waking adaptation to loss. These will be employed in the third study to attempt to aid this process directly.